Chamber's Dal Ritchey Says `It's Simply Time To Do Something Else'

ACROSS VOLUSIA

Dal Ritchey never strayed far from his background in radio. He was always a talker. A straight talker.

He was from the Howard Cosell school of tell-it-like-is and let the chips take a tumble.

The past tense is appropriate here because Ritchey resigned abruptly last Friday from his position as executive director of the DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce - a job he held 24 years.

``What you see is what you get. I always appreciated people like me - I didn't have to guess what they were thinking,'' he said Tuesday.

``Sometimes it gets me in trouble. But the tendency is, if you don't speak your mind people tend to do your thinking for you.''

But even for Ritchey there are times for silence.

This is one of those times. Asked about why he gave no notice, Ritchey politely declined to discuss the details. No airing of any laundry in public.

Instead, Ritchey, 58, explained that the repetition of the job - the deadlines, the countless meetings and writing of newsletters - had become drudgery over the years.

``In all truth, I wasn't having as much fun as I once did, and it showed,'' he said. ``I got out of broadcasting when it wasn't fun anymore. I promised myself I would do the same here. I violated that by a few years, and it wasn't fair to the chamber.

``What convinced me was that I'm losing my patience. I don't have the patience I once had, and I've never been overly blessed with patience,'' he said. ``I need a little more freedom. My life has been awfully regimented. More than anything, it's simply time to do something else.''

He said he doesn't know where he will work next - only that he plans to stay in the area and isn't ready to retire.

Despite his long tenure, Ritchey wasn't the chamber's first choice. He applied twice - and he wasn't the first choice the second time, either.

``I've reminded them [chamber board) of that a few times - don't expect miracles, guys, I was your second choice,'' he said. ``In truth, I really did not know what a chamber of commerce was about. I learned it from scratch, almost. It was an education.''

You might say Ritchey and the chamber grew up together. Membership boomed from 412 to about 900 during his tenure.

The $56,000 budget grew to $312,000. But the real growth was in the serious business of community programs.

``We started doing more challenging things - I like to think more meaningful things,'' he said. Over the years, the chamber started MainStreet DeLand to spur the redevelopment of the city's central business district, the Committee of 100 to recruit industry and $uccess at Work to give students a glimpse of the world of work.

More recently, the chamber has been trying to help revitalize the Spring Hill area.

Ritchey doesn't take credit for the programs.

That belongs to the chamber membership, the volunteers.

``I was the motivator, the pusher, the idea man. My job was to listen and to learn,'' he said. ``I have not done a hell of a lot except do my job.

``The chamber has been effective because of all the people who are volunteers. They make it work. I don't.''